Quick Disclaimer, I do not know the full movesets of any pokemon, so some fighting moves will most likely be improvised based on what I know about the pokemon involved. Please don't get mad at me if I mess something up in the future.

Water Gym. Galar region.

The gym was empty at the moment; no one had yet come to challenge the leader. However, there was still a battle going on in the main arena. With a roar, a Luxray fired a bolt of lightning at a Drednaw, hitting it point blank. It was effective, but the Drednaw was still standing. It watched as the Luxray darted around it. Then, at its trainer's command, the Drednaw thrust its head forward in a headbutt, striking the Luxray's side. The Luxray tumbled to the ground, but quickly got back on its feet in time to see the Drednaw prepare a water blast. However, before it could fire, the Luxray summoned a bolt of flighting from the sky that struck the Drednaw and finished it off.

As the Drednaw fainted, it vanished back into its pokeball, which rested in the hand of the pokemon's owner, Gym Leader Nessa. Nessa walked over, juggling the ball in her hand with an amused expression on her face.

"You weren't kidding." She remarked, "You really have gotten better."

The person she was speaking to walked up next to the Luxray and patted it on the side. The figure in question was a boy a couple years younger than Nessa, with the same skin tone and hair color. His hair spiked up and he was bare chested, wearing only black pants and sneakers. He grinned at Nessa.

"Guess I can say, I finally beat my older sister in a battle." He chuckled.

Nessa amusingly rolled her eyes and sighed, 'Yes, I guess so, Loch."

Loch smiled at his sister as he recalled his Luxray back to its pokeball. Nessa's expression changed to a more solemn one. "I take it you'll be leaving soon."

Loch nodded. He had been planning to strike out on his own to find his own place in the world. His first destination was in the Hoenn region, and the plane was leaving soon.

"Well," Nessa sighed, "I'll see you out then. You should get ready."

A while later, Loch, now with a backpack and suitcase, and Nessa said their final goodbyes at the airport gate.

"You sure you have all you need?" Nessa asked.

"Yup." Loch said, shrugging his backpack.

"And you remembered your pokemon?" Nessa asked.

Loch chuckled. "God, Nessa, you're starting to sound like Mom."

Nessa smiled and shrugged. "What can I say? I just want to make sure you'll be ok."

Loch patted her shoulder. "You just worry about running your gym. I gotta figure out where I belong on my own. Don't worry, I'll visit."

"You'd better." Nessa replied, "Otherwise I'll have to hunt you down."

The two shared a good laugh just as the final boarding call for Loch's flight came over the intercom. Knowing he had to leave, Loch and Nessa shared a hug and kissed each other on the cheeks before Loch turned to board the plane. After squeezing into his seat, Loch looked out the window towards the airport and saw Nessa standing in the window, waving goodbye. Loch smiled; he and Nessa had been through a lot together, but now he was ready to carve his own path as a trainer.

Still, it was a comforting final view of Galar as the plane departed from the region. Once it was in the sky, Loch reclined back in his seat, smiling as he juggled one of his pokeballs in his hand. He also mentally ran through a list of what it was he wanted to do.

For starters, he didn't want to be like other trainers and simply aim for the Champion spot; it was way too cliché at this point. No, he wanted to go further. He didn't mind if he got a few gym badges here and there, but he wanted to look beyond the badges. To Loch, his pokemon were the key to unlocking the secrets of each of the regions…and Loch was going to discover them all.

This is meant to be the first story in a trilogy, all revolving around the same events.

Let me know what you think so far!